This speach has a decidedly conservative slant, however several of the points are very well put. Others are quite irksome......she could have done without the abortion reference.

Stand Up for America Speech
By: Beth Chapman, Alabama State Auditor

Copyright, 2003

I’m here tonight because men and women of the United States military have given their lives for my freedom. I am not here tonight because Sheryl Crowe, Rosie O’Donnell, Jane Fonda, Martin Sheen, the Dixie Chicks, Barbra Streisand, the Beastie Boys, George Clooney or Phil Donahue, sacrificed their lives for me.

If my memory serves me correctly, it was not movie stars or musicians, but the United States Military who fought on the shores of Iwo Jima the jungles of Vietnam , and the beaches of Normandy .

Tonight, I say we should support the President of the United States and the U.S. military and tell the liberal, tree-hugging, hippy, Birkenstock wearing, tie-dyed liberals to go make their movies and music and whine somewhere else.

After all, if they lived in Iraq , they wouldn’t be allowed the freedom of speech they’re being given here today - - ironically, they would be put to death at the hands of Sadam Husssein or Osama Bin Laden.

I want to know how the very people who are against war because of the loss of life, can possibly be the same people who are for abortion?

They are the same people who are for animal rights but against the rights of the unborn.

The movie stars say they want to go to Iraq and serve as human shields for the Iraqis, I say let them buy a one-way ticket and go.

No one likes war, I hate war. But the one thing I hate more is the fact that this country has been forced into war—innocent people have lost their lives - - and there but for the grace of God, it could have been my brother, my husband, or even worse my own son.

On December 7, 1941 , there are no records of movie stars treading the blazing waters of Pearl Harbor .

On September 11, 2001 ; there are no photos of movie stars standing as human shields against the debris and falling bodies ascending from the World Trade Center . There were only policemen and firemen - -underpaid civil servants who gave their all with nothing expected in return.

When the USS Cole was bombed, there were no movie stars guarding the ship - - where were the human shields then?

If America’s movie stars want to be human shields, let them shield the gang-ridden streets of Los Angeles, or New York City, let them shield the lives of the children of North Birmingham whose mothers lay them down to sleep on the floor each night to shelter them from stray bullets.

If they want to be human shields, I say let them shield the men and women of honesty and integrity who epitomize courage and embody the spirit of freedom by wearing the proud uniforms of the United States Military. Those are the people who have earned and deserve shielding.

Throughout the course of history, this country has remained free, not because of movie stars and liberal activists but because of brave men and women who hated war too - - but lay down their lives so that we all may live in freedom. After all – What greater love hath no man, that he lay down his life for his friend,” but in this case a country.

We should give our military honor and acknowledgement and not let their lives be in vain. If you want to see true human shields, walk through Arlington Cemetery . There lies human shields, heroes, and the BRAVE Americans who didn’t get on television and talk about being a human shields, they were human shields.

I thank God tonight for freedom - - those who bought and paid for it with their lives in the past - - those who will protect it in the present and defend it in the future.

America has remained silent too long. God-fearing people have remained silent too long.

We must lift our voices united in a humble prayer to God for guidance and the strength and courage to sustain us throughout whatever the future may hold.

After the tragic events of Sept. 11th, my then eleven -year-old son said terrorism is a war against us and them and if you’re not one of us, then you’re one of them.

So in closing tonight, let us be of one accord, let us stand proud, and let us be the human shields of prayer, encouragement and support for the President, our troops and their families and our country.

May God bless America , the land of the free, the home of the brave and the greatest country on the face of this earth!

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Copyright, 2003

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Normally, we do not so much look at things as overlook them.

I STRONGLY endorse her right to hold and promote publicly these opinions. I have question on how she feels about my right to do the same thing. She clearly seems to think celebrity status should disqualify this right.

When she ends by saying

" So in closing tonight, let us be of one accord, let us stand proud, and let us be the human shields of prayer, encouragement and support for the President, our troops and their families and our country."

It seems she is asking me not to excercise that same right. Not requiring that I relinquish that right, but certainly hoping people will.

"It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag."

The extremists hate the military, and I'd love to break their hands with a vice grip. But the thing that really bugs me is that Clinton has done the same things that Bush did when it came to war, and I didn't see the liberals screaming and shutting down Socalist Franliberal and NYC. Lets be even-handed now, people.

I was glad when Clinton threw missles into Iraq when they were in violation of the Gulf War cease fire. Now, do I believe that he did it because of the Monica situation? Yes. Do I believe it was the wrong action to take? Not at all.

While I can't answer that for everyone, I can tell you that I, personally, used to think quite a bit like you back then. I thought that it was right to bomb them, even though I hated Clinton. So there's your answer about why I wasn't protesting five years ago.
________MEDICAL MARIJUANA

I held a much more conservative point of view at that time. I didn't read about any of it beyond newspapers or what I saw on the television news, and I didn't question what I heard. In short, much as it shames me to say it, I thought quite a bit like you.

These days, I ask questions, I seek to know the true motives of our leaders, and I pay attention and read between the fucking lines. It just happens that my enlightenment conicided with the Bush Administration's rise to power.

The more you read, the more you learn, the more conserative you get. So in fact what you are saying is that you let your feelings overshadow the facts and you became a bedwetter.

My question is this: What author could POSSIBLY be conservative enough to get a stamp of approval from you?? Galton, maybe?? There's no way you could like Adam Smith, with his writings on charity and stuff. Even Machiavelli had his tender moments.

thats a pathetic article.. as if some auditor .
as a gulf war veteran and the grandson of a decorated veteran i support our troops but do not support Bush..

Bush has cut over a trillion in veterans funding!!!
George doesnt support the troops, he wants them to die for his power over oil. Bush doesnt support our troops, he considers them expendable oh yea, and while our soldiers were fighting in viet nam bush was fucking AWOL for petes sake!!

I'm with Veterans Against Iraq War www.vaiw.org and
Veterans For Peace www.veteransforpeace.org and ask all you nationalists(those who are) to read something other than the mainstream media.. try those veterans sites for one if you think your so patriotic for good reasons.

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the neo-capitalists believe in privatizing profits and socializing losses